On a weekend morning, after breakfast, Su Zelin and the folks from room 302 headed to the internet cafe in a grand fashion.

The campus network application had been submitted, but it hadn't been activated yet. Word was, it would take until next week to sort it out, so for now, the only way to go online was to hit the internet cafe.

Even once the campus network was connected, trips to the internet cafe weren't going to stop, because there's no soul in a dormitory that doesn't move as a unit.

There were plenty of internet cafes near the finance college, and they soon arrived at one of them.

They set up the computers, following the old habit, lit a Liqun cigarette, and opened Winamp.

Through the headphones came Zhang Xinzhe's uniquely recognizable, delicate voice. Some people who hadn't heard of this singer might even mistake him for a woman upon first listening.

...

Whenever I hear the melancholy notes

They stir up memories of pain

Whenever I see the white moonlight

I think of your face

Knowing I shouldn't think, can't think

Yet I find myself lost in thought

Who makes my heart ache, who do I care about

It's you

...

The song "Faith" from 2000 was a big hit, and even for reborn Su Zelin, it was still quite enjoyable.

After downloading the stock trading software, he checked out the market for a while. The stock he got into later was decent, not earth-shattering like Shenghai and Mei Lin's, but it earned a small profit daily, which was much better than leaving it in the bank.

Then, Su Zelin opened QQ.

Tencent's user base skyrocketed this year; no young person at the internet cafe didn't play with QQ.

But Hunzi didn't open his old five-digit QQ, instead using a new account because Zeng Kaiping was sitting right next to him.

In the previous life, it was from Hunzi that Zeng Kaiping learned those flirting tactics, excited like Columbus discovering a new continent. He met dozens of female netizens over four years, pressing the F key till it got worn out.

This time, Hunzi hoped Zeng Kaiping wouldn't be so desperate, preferring he find a good girlfriend in real life rather than "firing shots" all over the place, so he didn't intend to pass on his techniques to the little guy.

Yet, even so, Zeng Kaiping still greatly admired Hunzi.

Strangely enough, no matter how rich, smart, or good at games you were, the little guy didn't care. It was only people like Su Zelin, who were fierce in flirting and had numerous tricks, that he thought were awesome.

Seeing Hunzi become the de facto women's club leader in less than a week, Zeng Kaiping secretly followed Su Zelin, learning his moves. It seemed he was still inclined to evolve into a Casanova; perhaps it was his nature. Even without Su Zelin's intentional teachings, the result might be inevitable.

The old QQ was mostly abandoned. During the summer break, Hunzi chatted with those female netizens just to relive old memories out of boredom, but he quickly found it uninteresting.

He didn't have many friends on his new QQ: Lu Haoran, Tang Yan, Qin Shiqing, a few classmates, and the internet cafe attendant girl and Huang Panpan.

Huang Panpan was added later; after changing his strategy in dealing with the younger classmate, he added her to his new QQ on a whim and occasionally left her a motivational message.

Lu Haoran and Xiaoyanzi's avatars were blacked out. If nothing unexpected happened, they were probably on the train and, naturally, couldn't go online. Mobile QQ wouldn't come out until 2003, so they could only log in via computer until then.

A few high school classmates were online, but Su Zelin wasn't very interested. Apart from Lu Haoran, his relationships with other high school classmates were average, nowhere near as well-connected as during his college days.

However, to Su Zelin's slight surprise, Qin Shiqing was online too.

Even though Qing Mei also had QQ, she rarely visited internet cafes; she only went a few times with Xiaoyanzi during the whole summer, and it was still early morning, not even eight o'clock yet.

Qin Shiqing's avatar soon started blinking.

Sunny Day: "Zelin, Xiaoyanzi called me last night; she's coming to Lin'an today."

So Handsome from One Year Old: "Oh!"

Sunny Day: "She's coming with Lu Haoran. Did Haoran tell you?"

So Handsome from One Year Old: "He did!"

Sunny Day: "It's their first time spending time alone. Lu Haoran might feel out of his depth, haha!"

So Handsome from One Year Old: "Haha."

Su Zelin didn't notice one thing: today, Qin Shiqing was typing particularly fast.

...

At Zhejiang University, in the girls' dormitory.

Xiao Yue typed away on her IBM laptop's keyboard.

Next to her sat Qin Shiqing.

Xiao Yue was also a little rich girl; laptops were still luxury items at this time, yet she already had one.

Zhejiang University's efficiency in applying for the campus network was higher than the financial college's, and they were already connected.

She usually helped her roommates log in to QQ and such.

Just as Su Zelin went online, Qin Shiqing asked her to chat with Hunzi for a bit on her behalf.

Xiao Yue had already learned from Qin Shiqing that Su Zelin's real identity was her childhood friend.

They weren't actually in a romantic relationship, at least not at the moment.

In the past week, Su Zelin hadn't even called their dorm once.

No couple would be so indifferent after being apart in different schools for so long. And if they were truly a couple, even a little separation would be like a mini honeymoon; they would have definitely planned a meetup over the weekend last night. There's no way it would be this quiet.

"Qin Shiqing, is your childhood friend actually good at talking in real life? Why is he so boring online?"

Xiao Yue was deeply puzzled.

When she first met Su Zelin, he was slick-tongued, wittier than ever, and a stark contrast to his online persona.

She had heard that people who are introverted in real life often become lively online, but she had never heard of someone lively in real life being dull online.

This guy's messages on QQ seemed to kill the conversation with each reply, completely lacking the charm he showed when he flirted with all the girls in the dorm in just a few minutes that day.

"Not really, it's just that he's like this when chatting with me."

Qin Shiqing pouted slightly.

"Why?"

Xiao Yue was baffled.

Qin Shiqing took a sip of water before explaining, "He said he's too familiar with me; we live next door to each other, so there's nothing much to talk about since we see each other all the time!"

"What kind of logic is that!"

Xiao Yue burst into laughter.

"Shiqing, you're so pretty, doesn't Su Zelin have any interest in you? Isn't he afraid that some other guy at Zhejiang University might steal you away?"

Even though school had just started a week ago, Qin Shiqing had already caught the attention of many guys.

Besides the boys in her class, even seniors, including Xie Tianyu, who was in charge of the freshman reception, were obviously interested in her.

Logically, with such a great childhood friend living right next door, any guy would grab the opportunity, afraid she might get snatched by someone else. Yet, here is Su Zelin, as nonchalant as ever.

"Not at all. You know, when we were filling out college applications, he really encouraged me to apply to Peking University and Tsinghua University!"

Thinking of this, Qin Shiqing felt a bit annoyed again.

"Okay, all I can say is he will definitely regret it in the future. Missing out on a girl like you, he'll never find another one like you!"

Xiao Yue shrugged her shoulders.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The sound of a knock came as someone requested to add a new friend, but this time it was on Xiao Yue's QQ.

She opened it, and it was quite awkward.

The applicant's nickname was "Handsome Since One."

It was her roommate's childhood friend's QQ.

Last time they met, she gave her number to him, thinking he was just her roommate's brother, not giving it much thought, but later realized that wasn't the case.

Although they weren't a couple, Xiao Yue could tell the relationship was a bit subtle.

If she added him, it felt strange.

If she didn't, it seemed too deliberate.

Qin Shiqing noticed her hesitation and said casually, "It's fine, we're all friends."

"Alright then!"

Since her roommate said so, Xiao Yue stopped hesitating.

Almost as soon as she passed the friend verification, a new message arrived.

"Handsome Since One: Wow, fantastic, I caught a little cutie alive!"

Xiao Yue: "..."

...

Two minutes later, Xiao Yue realized something.

Su Zelin was definitely not a dull guy online; on the contrary, he was quite the charmer.

Though his charm was entertaining, with her roommate close by, it was a bit awkward, so after a few casual chats, Xiao Yue made an excuse to go offline.

On the other side, Su Zelin, in the internet cafe, was puzzled as he saw Xiao Yue's QQ icon turn gray.

He could tell Xiao Yue wasn't interested in chatting with him, and leaving probably was just an excuse.

"Doesn't make sense!"

It was rare for the usually online savvy guy to feel frustrated.

He went over the chat history several times but didn't find any issues.

Though he was a bit teasing, he thought he managed to keep the balance just right, especially considering they had already met in person and built a solid first impression.

At that moment, Zeng Kaiping leaned in, having watched the entire chat between the charmer and Xiao Yue.

"Ah Lin, you can't play QQ like this, you'll scare them off. You can't rush things; you need to take it one step at a time. When you're starting, just say 'hi' or 'hello,' none of this straightforward stuff!"

Zeng Kaiping earnestly "instructed" his roommate.

The energetic guy thought while Su Zelin might be great at flirting in person, his online game was lacking, and he considered himself more adept at it.

Su Zelin thought to himself you don't know anything. In a past life, you didn't say that.

Back then, when you saw me flirting simultaneously with multiple girls using this method, you were amazed and almost wanted to kneel with a cup of tea to learn.

Forget it, no need to explain!

...

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